Is ‘ad-seg’ prison confinement inhumane?

In prison terminology, “ad-seg” is shorthand for administrative segregation.

What it boils down to is that inmates are held in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day and allowed one hour outside their cells for exercise.

It’s reserved for the worst of the worst — prisoners who have attacked guards or other inmates, run prison gangs, etc.

Texas has more inmates held under ad-seg conditions than any other state — 5,205 in all. Another 4,000 are in ad-seg for shorter periods after breaking rules or being declared escape risks.

Supporters of the practice say it’s vital to maintaining control in prisons — which are often barely under control as it is. They say it makes prisoners understand that rules must be obeyed on the inside too.

Yet critics say ad-seg confinement is cruel. They say that a man kept in those conditions for years has little chance of readapting to society if he is released.

Whaddya think?

Fair or not?

Should Texas try to find another way to punish or isolate dangerous inmates?

Or is this a reality that prisons can’t avoid?

If you work at a local jail or prison, how has that changed your views about inmates?

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